Even though the deal had been agreed long back, it is only this summer that Estevao arrived at Chelsea. The Brazilian youngster has been very impressive so far as well and one has to wonder if he should have been brought on earlier in the game against Bayern Munich. He certainly did not look out of place against such top level opposition even though the Blues lost the game by a 3-1 scoreline.
Expectations are high surrounding Estevao. That is why Chelsea shelled out an initial £29 million fee to sign him, although reports in Brazil have claimed that that figure could rise to as high as £60 million if add-ons are met.
Of course, that is a significant fee for any player, especially one who is 18 years of age and all we can focus on is his potential. That being said, Chelsea do believe that they have signed another talent in that same category. And in this case, he will arrive for only €4 million, significantly lower than what it took to sign Estevao.
As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, Simon Phillips reports via Substack that the Blues believe Dastan Satpaev could be another Estevao on their hands. The Club World Champions have huge belief in the Kazakh talent and think he could be in a similar category to the Brazilian international.
Chelsea believe their €4m signing can be as good as Estevao
Those are certainly lofty expectations to put on a youngster like Satpaev. But he is already showing signs that he could be special. Very special.
Satpaev scored 3 goals and provided an assist in 7 games, as he was instrumental in helping Kairat Almaty qualify for the Champions League this season. This is the first time in the club's history that they will be taking part in the competition and the 17-year-old is expected to be at the centre of it all.
His numbers at the domestic level are even more ridiculous. Last season, he scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists in 22 league games. At u18 level, which is where he should be playing right now, he scored 27 goals and provided 9 assists in 28 games for Kairat.
So, it is not hard to understand why Chelsea are so excited about Satpaev. This Champions League campaign can prove to be a brilliant learning curve for him as well as he will be playing against Europe's best at 17 years of age before making his move to Stamford Bridge.